The Quarterly Musical Review (1885-1888) Copyright © 2003 RIPM Consortium Ltd Répertoire International De La Presse Musicale (

The Quarterly Musical Review (1885-1888)

The Quarterly Musical Review [QMR] was published in Manchester from February 1885 until August 1888 by John Heywood, under the direction of Dr. Henry Hiles, editor and proprietor. By means of the title, Hiles appears to pay tribute to Richard Mackenzie Bacon's Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review (1818-1828), the first important British music journal. A publication closely associated with the Society of Professional Musicians (later, the Incorporated Society of Musicians), QMR deals with the important pedagogical and historical issues of the day. Hiles, in association with James Dawber, founded the Society of Professional Musicians in 1882 in an effort to organize musicians "in a manner similar to that which other learned professions are organized."1 Although not advertised as such, QMR served as the Society's main organ of communication. When the Incorporated Society began to function, however, QMR ceased publication, only to be followed by The Monthly Journal of the National Society of Professional Musicians (1888/89-1908), which reflected the goals first laid down by the editor of QMR.

Each issue of QMR contains sixty-four pages printed in a single-column format. Four to six pages of "Appendix" follow the main part: these additional pages deal with matters particular to the establishment and organization of the various branches of the Society of Professional Musicians. A simple one-page table of contents (called index) is provided for the first three volumes; no index is provided for the fourth.

According to the declarations in his preface, editor Hiles conceived of the journal as a forum of instruction and discussion for British provincial musicians, hitherto indifferently educated and somewhat disorganized. "The topics [treated] ... will include all matters appertaining to the art and science of music; and will be so treated as to illustrate a general, rather than a restricted, argument; to interest the musician rather than the specialist. "2

Henry Hiles (1826-1904), an organist and composer, received his bachelor and doctoral degrees from Oxford University. He was employed as organist at churches in Shrewsbury, Bury, Bishopwearmouth, London and Manchester. In 1863 Hiles was appointed to this post at St. Paul's, Manchester, and in the late 1870s taught harmony and composition at Owen's College, Manchester and later at Victoria University. In his compositions Hiles favored choral music genres, and produced numerous services, anthems, oratorios, cantatas, glees and part-songs, and an opera War in the Household. As a dedicated educator he wrote six textbooks on harmony, part-writing and

1 Quotations from the objects of the National Society of Musicians are reproduced in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., s.v. "Incorporated Society of Musicians." 2 Henry Hiles, "Introduction," QMR I, no. 1 (August 1885): 2.

ix The Quarterly Musical Review counterpoint.3 Hiles is the author of fourteen major articles published in QMR dealing with aspects of music education; namely harmony, acoustics, rhythm, notation, instrumentation, and .music examinations. In addition, Hiles examines both the often troubled relationship of organists and choirmasters with the clergy, and the prevailing adulation of Continental musicians by the administrators of British institutions and the general public. In a three-part series article Hiles probes what he considers to be the "absurdities" of contemporary notation, including ornamentation and accidentals.

Frederic Corder, the well-known operatic composer and writer on music also contributed to QMR during the journal's initial year of publication. Corder wrote about contemporary attitudes toward the symphony, the growing interest in the concept of the symphonic poem as practiced by Franz Liszt, and the "misrepresentation" of composers' intentions created by re-scoring and arranging compositions for performance in venues other than those for which they were originally composed. Corder also considered the problems encountered by pupils and teachers in the study of musical instruments.

~ A number of writers occasionally contribute articles to the journal. Samuel Sebastian Wesley explains the various components and requirements of a well-run cathedral choir. Stephen S. Stratton, music critic of the Birmingham Daily Post and contributor to many other journals, introduces readers to the most prominent American composers and performers of the period. Henry Fisher outlines educational plans for teaching music to the young, the lack of methodology in the teaching of elementary music (in a two-part article), and studies professional and amateur "criticism." Arthur Watson also attempts to define "the critic" and to reconcile "trade" and "art." The Scottish composer, Alexander C. Mackenzie deliberates on current conditions and future prospects for British musicians, and compares British government support for the arts with that in France.

Although book reviews do not occupy a prime position in QMR, there are notices about John Spenser Curwen's Studies in Worship Music, Arthur Pougin's G. Verdi: vita aneddotica and Emil Naumann's History of Music (in Ferdinand Praeger's English language translation). A major review by Arthur Watson explores details of Amy Fay's Music Study in Germany with pianists Ludwig Deppe, Carl Tausig and Franz Liszt. The same writer also compares art and religion, and attempts to define the role of the critic.

Translations (by Marian Millar) of several articles from the European press include

Johann Christian Lobe's reminiscences of musical life in Weimar and a text on the 0 playing of Paganini; La Mara (Marie Li psi us) on the sixtieth anniversary of Schubert's death; an extract from Ludwig Nohl's Beethoveniana series describing the composer's physical appearance and distinguishing features; Hermann Kretzschmar' s consideration

3 Extracts from reviews of Hiles's books are found in the advertising sections of The Quarterly Musical Review.

X Introduction of Wagner's Parsifal; Rudolph Bunge's study of Beethoven's opera Leonore; and an anonymous account of Wagner's first opera The Novice ofPalermo.

Several pieces of fiction with musical connections are published in the journal. Notable among these are B. C. Cressieux's reminiscence of Meyerbeer, and Marz'roth's account of a meeting between Austrian Prince Louis Ferdinand and Beethoven. Advertisements of contemporary music instruction books (with press reviews) are found at the conclusion of individual issues.